Thursday, June 30, 2016

Lemon Tablescape

How many of you remember the "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" story from your children's childhood? My husband and I must have read this story - and its sequels (If You Give a Moose a Muffin, If You Give a Pig a Pancake) a hundred times! What fun times!

And now, I've created my own version. It goes like this: If you give Maria a Lemon Thyme herb plant,

the variegated Lemon Thyme that she can find locally only at Trader Joe's every other year . . .

Once the table is set, she'll want to invite some friends for lunch . . .

If she invites some friends, it'll dawn on her that she's now going to have to prepare some food, because, unfortunately, it won't magically appear in her kitchen. She makes a nice arugula salad with shaved Parmesan cheese and dressed with a lemon vinaigrette . . .

using her precious olive oil, bought in Italy last year while she was traveling in Tuscany.

Then, she'll prepare one of her favorite dishes: Chicken Marbella, from the Silver Palate Cookbook.

The chicken is prepared with yummy treats like olives, capers, prunes, garlic, oregano, and, of course, more precious olive oil . . . All those good things that remind her of the Mediterranean . . .

Then it's sprinkled with brown sugar, which will caramelize during baking and flavor the chicken beautifully . . .

Once the chicken is done, she'll need to turn her attention to the beverages, and, since her mind is still taking a short trip back to Italy, Pallini Palmers seem perfect for the occasion!

Made with her favorite Arnold Palmer recipe, and adding a generous portion of Pallini Limoncello,

It's a perfect summer drink!

There are a lot of lemons in this post, but as Mae West once famously said: “Too much of a good thing can be wonderful!”

She and her guests can glance at her flowering clematis in the backyard, just to cleanse their visual palate . . .

Her friends will come and share the food, the drinks, and some lovely conversation on a beautiful summer afternoon . . .

And chances are . . . she'll have so much fun, she'll want to do it again and again!

Maria! I love that chicken marbella recipe and if I ever get out there to visit you I'll look forward to this exact meal--chicken marbella, that salad, and lemon cake! I used to make that chicken so often for easy family recipes when a crowd was expected. That cake pan is so interesting and I was tempted to add it to my collection awhile ago. I love the citrus plates too. Something about citrus is so cooling on these hot, humid days. I can smell it now. This is really a beautiful table with delicious food! Oooh I'm craving that chicken right now! And yes, I used to be able to recite the mouse cookie book in my sleep. Linda